There are signs that the COVID-19 vaccines being injected into people these days are doing their job. You can see it in the statistics showing the falling number of new cases and deaths. And, unfortunately, you can see it in the continuing rise of cases in states where people are avoiding vaccination.

The case of the State of Missouri was highlighted earlier this week. According to the Associated Press, Missouri is seeing a rise in cases as the fast spreading delta variant sweeps through and finds a population where most people are not vaccinated. One county in Missouri has a vaccination rate of only 13 percent. Many more are well short of 40 percent.

Another statistic comes from another AP analysis of COVID and vaccination statistics. Thanks to vaccinations, the number of deaths per day in the U.S. has fallen below 300. But almost all the COVID deaths are among people who have not been vaccinated.

Looking at hospitalizations, fewer than 1,200 of the 853,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations are people who have been vaccinated.

So many deaths and hospitalizations could be avoided if more people were to roll up their sleeves and get the vaccine. The vaccine works.